Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-08-25

farmers are becoming less careful to
keep il free from rye. The two grains
vary little in value by weight, and
there are many farmers who think that
they produce better crops when grown
together than either would separately.
II looks sloyenly to see wheat and rye
growing together; but if rye gets in the
farm, more or less will appear In the
wheat field every season. Years ago.
farmers used to cut out the rye Just rs
its tail stalks pccred above the wheat;
but little of that is done now. This
scattering rye does not detract enough
from the price TO make it worth while
to remove it. But rye is much harder
than wheat, and in bad seasons will
rapidly increase in proportion TO the
finer grain. 1t IS worth VIII le to get
pure seed wheat. This is the only way
to prevent rye from coming in.
CANADA THIsrLEs IN MEADOWS.
The Canada thistle. though not east
ly killed, is yet comparatively easy to
keep in subsection. provided the sur
face is covered with other vegetation.
A heavy growth Of. clover or timothy
will leave little room for thistles, ex-
ccpt in vacant spaces. Enough will
push through to keep the root alive,
and rs soon as the field is plowed they
will grow with greater vigor than ever,
even on fields where but few before
were to be seen. Heavily seeding with
clover or grass is therefore one OF the
best means, not of destroying thitles,
but OF making them rs little trouble as
possible. On farm filled with this.
ties the larger part should be seeded
heavily, and then the fields one after
another be taken in hand and the this.
ties in each thoroughly rooted out. 1t
is true great deal of hay is half this.
ties. but this is mainly the farmers
fault, either in no; sowing enough grass
and clover seed or in pasturing these
until they were destroyed, leaving the
thistlcs to occupy their places.
BITTER MILK FROM WEEDS.
The presence of weeds. and especially
rag weed, in pastures is one reason
why many COWS give poor milk and
butter during and after midsummer
While the weather is hot and the poor
animal is tormented by flies she eats
hastily and greed ly. not taking the
care TO select the more dil;cate grass
am reject that which is coarse and Of
fcnsive that she does earlier and later
in the season. The most the'cow aims
to do is to fill herself rapidly with
grass and weeds, and then lie down in
the shade where flies will be less troub-
lesome. 1t is difficult to make first.
class butter in midsummer, and impos-
s:bic unless the pastures are free from
weeds and the water good. Cows in
their haste to fill up in hot weather
will even eat many weeds with grass
whose bitter taste would at any other
time cause them to reject it. Many
Western farmers went too late into
the d AIRY business. They were long
comparatively free from weeds; but by
the time grain growing became I'M
profitable, their fields were as weedy
as those of Eastern farmers.
GROWING EARLY TOMATOES.
A Pennsylvania grower aims to grow
his tomatoes for market rs early as
possible. In the height of the season
they show but very little profit. For
early planting, he sows seeds in Janu-
airy or February in shallow boxes and
forces in the greenhouse. He plants
out as soon as the ground is dry and
warm, usually in May. setting the
plants two feet apart. Each plant is
trained to stake four or five feet high.
1t does not pay him to grow them with
out stalking. He trims closely at first,
leaving only n few branches for early
fruit. Later he does not trim. but sim.
ply ties the vines to the stakes until the
top is reached, when they are allowed
to hang over and fruit until killed by
frost In training, he makes about
three tyings to a stake, leaving only
the main vine to grow. As the shoots
or laterals grow, he cuts them back to
one leaf He is convinced that the
finest fruit is produced by leaving suffi-
cient foliage to protect it from the di-
rect rays of the sun, and at the same
time not SO dense as to exclude light
and air. american CutiUator.